WORKFLOW KIT · IMMUNOLOGY

APC Enhancement Kit

Engineer antigen-presenting cells for immune activation, vaccine research, and DC-based workflows.

Every kit includes: RNA · Optimized protocols · MicroBooster™ cartridges · Suggested readouts · Reagents

Upgrade your workflow

Boost antigen, co-stimulatory, and cytokine mRNAs into PBMCs or dendritic cells in a single step, so one cell carries signals 1, 2, and 3, and antigen lands in the cytosol where the MHC class I pathway can reach it.

The problem

Building a potent antigen-presenting cell means combining antigen, co-stimulation, and cytokine support, signals 1, 2, and 3, in the same cell. Loading antigen the conventional way relies on cross-presentation, where only a fraction of endocytosed antigen escapes the endosome to reach the cytosol, and each added signal usually means another engineering step.

With this kit

Gateway™ mechanoporation gives PBMCs or dendritic cells a gentle mechanical squeeze that transiently opens pores, so several mRNAs diffuse into the cytosol together. Antigen arrives where MHC class I peptides are sourced from, and in published work that route presented antigen roughly 1,000-fold more efficiently than cross-presentation. Five mRNAs have gone into human PBMCs in one boost, so antigen, co-stimulation, and cytokine support all arrive together.

Five steps, one boost

Gateway™ mechanoporation replaces stacked antigen-loading and co-stimulation steps with a single, gentle delivery step.

Portal has the Solution

01

Isolate

PBMCs or dendritic cells

02

Mix

Cells + cargo (RNA / protein)

03

Boost

Gateway™ mechanoporation

04

Culture

Rest in APC media

05

Confirm

Activation markers & antigen presentation

Unbiased, validated intracellular hits

5 mRNAs

Antigen, co-stimulation, and cytokines into human PBMCs in one step

~1,000-Fold

Gain in MHC-I presentation efficiency over cross-presentation

20× IFN-γ

From T cells meeting antigen-loaded dendritic cells, against endocytic uptake

What's in the box

The cargo and protocols below make this kit specific. The core consumables, settings, and support ship with every Portal kit.

Available Cargoes

mbIL2
mbIL12
CD86
Custom antigen RNA

Don't see your cargo? Ask us about custom configurations

Reagents & Consumables

Delivery tracer
MicroBooster™

Protocol & Settings

Protocol for PBMC delivery
Protocol for dendritic cell delivery
Recommended cell concentrations
Suggested assay readouts

Support

Portal RNA sourcing
Optional: hands-on implementation visit

Available Cargoes

mbIL2
mbIL12
CD86
Custom antigen RNA

Don't see your cargo? Ask us about custom configurations

Reagents & Consumables

Delivery tracer
MicroBooster™

Protocol & Settings

Protocol for PBMC delivery
Protocol for dendritic cell delivery
Recommended cell concentrations
Suggested assay readouts

Support

Portal RNA sourcing
Optional: hands-on implementation visit

Proof Points

Enhanced APCs from a Single Five-mRNA Boost

HPV16 E6, HPV16 E7, CD86, mbIL-2, and mbIL-12 mRNA boosted into human PBMCs in a single boosting step, then read out against E7-TCR transduced CD8+ T cells after E7₁₁₋₁₉ peptide restimulation. All five together raised IFN-γ+ CD8+ T cells to about 10%, against about 1% for cells boosted without mRNA, about 3% for antigen mRNA alone, and about 2% for the co-stimulatory and cytokine mRNAs alone. (Maloney et al., SITC 2021.)

~1,000-Fold Gain in MHC Class I Presentation Efficiency

Peptides presented on MHC class I come from proteins already in the cytosol, so antigen delivered straight there skips the endosomal escape step that cross-presentation depends on. Mouse bone marrow-derived dendritic cells mechanoporated with ovalbumin and co-cultured with OVA-specific CD8+ T cells reached the same activation at roughly 1,000-fold lower antigen concentration than cross-presentation after endocytic uptake. (Booty et al., 2022, J Immunol.)

Robust mRNA Expression in PBMC Subtypes

GFP mRNA boosted into whole PBMCs expresses across every subtype in the well. T cells (CD3+), B cells (CD19+), NK cells (CD56+), and monocytes (CD14+) all shift GFP-positive after one boost, so you can build APCs from unsorted PBMCs and engineer the professional and non-classical presenters together.

Pluripotency Preserved After Boost

iPSCs boosted on Gateway™ and compared with untreated controls by RT-qPCR. Oct4, SOX2, Nanog, Klf4, Myc, and TERT all sit at roughly control levels relative to ACTB, and 32 housekeeping genes are unchanged. Boosting itself does not disturb the pluripotency program.

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STEM CELL BIOLOGY

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IMMUNOLOGY

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Stem cell biology

HSC Enhancement

Best suited for: Hematopoietic stem cells
Available enhancements: CXCR4, BCL2
Best suited for: Engraftment, survival, stemness preservation

NEUROSCIENCE

T Cell Functional Enhancement Kit

Best suited for: Human T cells (activated or unstimulated), PBMCs
Available enhancements: mbIL2, mbIL12, Perforin, Gzmb, B2M and TCR knockouts
Measure endogenous intracellular proteins in live cells
Use cases: Cytokine armoring, gene KO, persistence enhancement

CELL ENGINEERING

Engineered Cell Purification

Enriches engineered cell populations for assays, differentiation, or transplantation
Enhancements: antibiotic-resistance mRNA markers, self-amplifying RNA, protein, or RNP cargo
Measures purity, viability, and cargo expression post-selection
Use cases: purifying reporter-positive cells, enriching through 3D differentiation, cleaning up mixed-delivery pools

Broad Compatibility

Portal’s platform supports delivery to a diverse range of cell types and cargoes

Delivery materials

Validated cell types

mRNA, siRNA, saRNA

Proteins & Peptides

CRISPR RNPs

Small Molecules

Polymers

Nanoparticles

Antibodies

Virus

PBMCs

T cells

B cells

NK cells

iPSCs

Monocytes

RBCs

HSCs

Delivery materials

mRNA, siRNA, saRNA

Proteins & Peptides

CRISPR RNPs

Small Molecules

Polymers

Nanoparticles

Antibodies

Virus

Validated cell types

PBMCs

T cells

B cells

NK cells

iPSCs

Monocytes

RBCs

HSCs

What is the APC Enhancement Kit?The APC Enhancement Kit builds enhanced antigen-presenting cells by boosting antigen, co-stimulatory, and cytokine mRNAs into PBMCs or dendritic cells in a single step. Gateway™ mechanoporation gives each cell a gentle mechanical squeeze that transiently opens pores, so mRNA reaches the cytosol directly instead of arriving through an endosome. The kit supplies mbIL2, mbIL12, CD86, and custom antigen RNA, with separate protocols for PBMC delivery and dendritic cell delivery, and it is built for immune activation, vaccine research, and DC-based workflows.

What cargo can the APC Enhancement Kit deliver?The APC Enhancement Kit delivers mbIL2, mbIL12, CD86, and custom antigen RNA into PBMCs and dendritic cells. The same Gateway™ boost also carries protein antigen, siRNA, and a dextran tracer. In published work with mechanoporation, five mRNAs were boosted into human PBMCs together in a single boost. Portal Bio sources the RNA as part of the kit and builds custom cargo configurations on request.

How do you engineer antigen-presenting cells without a virus or electroporation?The APC Enhancement Kit engineers APCs with no viral vector and no electric pulse. Gateway™ mechanoporation applies a gentle mechanical squeeze that briefly opens pores so mRNA diffuses into the cytosol, then the membrane reseals. Nothing is packaged into a vector and nothing integrates into the genome, so the antigen and cytokine cargo express transiently. Skipping viral packaging also removes the cargo-size limit that makes it hard to deliver several mRNAs to one cell.

Why is cytosolic antigen delivery more efficient than cross-presentation for MHC class I?Peptides presented on MHC class I are derived from proteins already in the cytosol, so delivering antigen straight into the cytosol routes it into the MHC-I pathway directly. Cross-presentation instead depends on a fraction of endocytosed antigen escaping the endosome, which is far less efficient. The APC Enhancement Kit takes the direct route, boosting antigen RNA into the cytosol with Gateway™ mechanoporation. In published work, mouse bone marrow-derived dendritic cells mechanoporated with ovalbumin and co-cultured with OVA-specific CD8+ T cells showed roughly a 1,000-fold gain in MHC class I presentation efficiency over cross-presentation after endocytic uptake, read out as CD69 upregulation on the responder T cells. (Booty et al., 2022, J Immunol.)

How many mRNAs can be delivered into a PBMC at once?Up to five mRNAs in a single Gateway™ boost. Published mechanoporation work boosted HPV16 E6, HPV16 E7, CD86, mbIL-2, and mbIL-12 mRNA into human PBMCs together in one boosting step, with protein detected by 4 hours and sustained through 24 hours. CD86, mbIL-2, and mbIL-12 were expressed across every major PBMC subset, so T cells, B cells, NK cells, and monocytes in the same well are all engineered at once and no sorting step is required beforehand. (Maloney et al., SITC 2021.)

Does the APC Enhancement Kit work with dendritic cells?Yes. The APC Enhancement Kit ships a dedicated dendritic cell protocol alongside the PBMC protocol. In published work, human monocyte-derived dendritic cells loaded with CMV pp65 antigen by mechanoporation drove about 20,000 pg/mL IFN-γ from responder T cells, against about 1,000 pg/mL when the same antigen was taken up by endocytosis, a 20-fold difference. B cells and T cells assayed the same way gave 15-fold and 20-fold gains, so non-classical APCs also present delivered antigen. (Maloney et al., SITC 2020.)

What are signals 1, 2, and 3 in APC engineering?Signal 1 is antigen presented on MHC, signal 2 is co-stimulation, and signal 3 is cytokine support, and a CD8+ T cell needs all three to activate fully. The APC Enhancement Kit supplies antigen RNA for signal 1, CD86 mRNA for signal 2, and mbIL2 and mbIL12 mRNA for signal 3. One Gateway™ boost puts all three into the same cell, so the signals arrive together rather than through separate engineering steps. In published work, PBMCs carrying all five mRNAs raised HPV16 E7-specific IFN-γ+ CD8+ T cells to about 10% against about 1% for cells boosted without mRNA, and against about 3% for antigen mRNA alone.

Ready to run the APC Enhancement Kit?

Request the kit and a Portal scientist will spec it for your cells, cargo, and readout.